Tribute: At Ogiyan’s palace, a mother goes home

For all mortals, death is an inevitable end. The journey of life can be aptly likened to a commercial vehicle conveying passengers to a destination and each person dropping off at his or her own bus stop.

The Ogiyan of Ejigboland and one of the Chairmen of Osun State Council of Obas and Chiefs, Oba Omowonuola Oyeyode Oyesosin, last month precisely July 27, 2021, lost his first wife Queen Ruth Adebola Anike to the cruel hands of death.

The Queen of Ogiyan Kingdom has gone to be with her maker after a brief illness leaving a vacuum for His Majesty, children, friends and well wishers particularly the people of Ejigbo that this life is indeed vanity upon vanity.

The passage of the late Queen Ruth Oyeyode after a brief illness in one of the hospitals in Lagos also showed us that every mortal will taste death and therefore no one has the right to query the decision of God because He giveth and taketh in His own time.

Late Queen Oyeyode, fondly called “Mummy” in the Palace circle lived  like a burning candle that the wind  of life abruptly put out without a chance to say goodbye to any of us.

The Queen has gone now and the reality is that all the seas of tears would never bring her back to life but her sweet memories will forever live in our hearts because Mummy lived a fulfilled life that is worthy of emulation.

The litmus test for any great leader is not how long but how effective and productive his life was and how his life was beneficial to the people he led. If we judge the late Queen Ruth Oyeyode by those indices of leadership, I will submit that our mother did pretty good and could have done more.

Jesus, the King of kings and the Lion of Judah lived for 33 years but he accomplished his life mission in 3 years as confirmed by the Bible. John Fitzgerald Kennedy was President and leader of the free world for less than 3 years but he made an impact and left a legacy that many of his predecessors and successors could only dream of in 4 to 8 years.

Murtala Mohammed was Head of State of Nigeria for only 200 days and in that short time frame, he did what Yakubu Gowon or Ibrahim Babangida and even Olusegun Obasanjo could not do with their longevity in the same office.

It is no doubt that our mother, Late Queen Ruth Adebola Anike Oyeyode lived a memorable life worthy of emulation that no one can controvert in view of volumes of tributes written after her death.

She remained a sweet mother that everyone would love to remember because she was excellent in caring and also very accommodating during her life time. No wonder various sympathisers from all walks of life trooped enmasse to the palace of Ogiyan of Ejigboland to make positive comments on the life of the deceased.

Among those that paid tributes are traditional rulers, chiefs, women groups, youth groups, market women, students and a host of others in the town.

Late Olori Ruth Adebola Anike hails from the family of Late Pa Matthew Babalola Alawo Akinyanran of Owu descent in Ejemus compound, Ejigbo and Madam Esther Eesuola Adedoja of Arogbos compound in Ejigbo.

She was born in Denu, Ghana, in the late 30s. Our Jewel traveled back to Nigeria in the early 60s to live with her uncle, Pa Nathaniel Oluwusi, who was then a staff in The Nigeria Railway Corporation in Jebba.

Consequent upon the need to learn a trade, the young Ruth was sent back to Ejigbo to learn the art of sewing under the apprenticeship of Mrs. Deborah Ilupeju and under the supervision of her grandmother, Madam Bilewuomo Elizabeth Babalola Alawo.

Mama’s attention was drawn to the then Prince Omowonuola Oyeyode because he looked much like her brother, Pa Joseph Babalola Alawo. The love birds got married on the 3rd of March, 1963, on the same day she graduated from her vocation training.

Being an industrious woman, while practicing her vocational activities which she enjoyed doing, she engaged in making small chops (puff-puff) in order to support her family finances.

Mama Olori was a successful trader in kolanut, palm-oil and lots more. She was also a member of the Tailoring Association, Ejigbo Branch.  Mama learnt how to read and write (especially her name as signature) outside formal school, most especially to be able to read her Yoruba Bible. Apart from Yoruba her mother tongue, she speaks Ashante, and a few other languages from Ghana where she grew up. She picked and pronounced few syllables of English from her children and often tried communicating whenever she is with her grand children.

Mama was a devoted Christian, a custodian of african cultural heritage. She was given an Award of Honour as a devoted wife in 1996 by the National Council of Women’s Societies (NCWS). The English Peoples Club also honored her with the Award of Excellence and Distinguished Service in 2002. And above all, she was so blessed with male and female children. She died at the age of 83.

As the remains of our mother is being committed to mother earth today, our prayer is that God will give the deceased eternal rest.

Balogun sent this from Eyingbo, Osun State.

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